A primary school has sparked nationwide controversy by splitting its playground in to designated "rich" and "poor" zones, in order to stop children playing in certain areas if their parents hadn't donated to the school.

The "No Pay, No Play" scheme at Wednesbury Oak Academy outraged parents, who successfully managed to get the scheme to come to an end after a report in the Daily Mirror. Before then, the misguided initiative had been in force for a whole week.

The Academy, located in the West Midlands, asked for a voluntary donation of £6 per child to purchase equipment for children to play with at lunchtime. However, parents and pupils were not made aware in advance that children whose parents didn't pay were to be separated from their peers.

The "no pay no play" scheme at Wednesbury Oak Academy launched last week

Parents started a petition highlighting the "social and financial discrimination" they believed was integral to the segregation. But despite the furore from parents and the national media, headteacher Maria Bull has continued to defend the move.

Speaking to the Mirror, she said: ""Parents have behaved in a highly threatening manner on Facebook, telling me I 'need a good slapping'. This is not the way to behave.

"We have systems in place where parents can come and address their concerns. I am on the verge of calling the police."

Prior to the initiative being shut down, Mrs Bull also claimed that parents only had "eight months" to pay for equipment, and that the school was making sure all parents paid because they were all able to afford it.